https://fox56.com/news/local/lackawanna-county-hunter-guilty-of-poaching-deer
12/08/2021
Pennsylvania Game Commission announced yesterday that a Lackawanna County man was prosecuted for the illegal poaching of eight white-tailed deer over a three-month period in Pike, Lackawanna, and Susquehanna counties.
Anthony Santarelli, 50, of Jessup, pled guilty to five counts of unlawful taking or possession of game and 16 other similar charges.
Bill Williams of the PA Game Commission confirmed that they received information earlier this year that multiple deer were unlawfully killed in the community of Fawn Lake Forest in Pike County.
Officials say that video surveillance showed Santarelli’s truck in the same area as two deer that had been fatally wounded from a crossbow bolt.
Further investigation allowed officials to find a crossbow bolt on the deck of the homeowner; forensic evidence at the scene revealed that this bolt had been involved in killing two deer.
Game Commission officers also used social media to identify a female resident of Fawn Lake Forest who was posing with the unlawfully killed deer in the back of Santarelli’s truck.
Because of this incident, officers were able to link Santarelli to three antlered and three antlerless deer that were killed and either not tagged or above legal bag limits.
In October of 2021, he was sent to Pike County Correctional Facility for one to six months.